LIFE

Do you hate when your bestie spends time with other friends? Do you feel jealous when other people have her attention and you don’t? If you said yes to either question, you might be a jealous BFF. While feeling a little envy is normal, it is not helpful for developing a healthy, lasting friendship. Here are some ways to help curb that feeling and keep your friend.

Make *new* friends.
If you’re feeling jealous or insecure about your friendship, it might be because your BFF is your only friend or close friend. The best way to cure that is to make new friends. Branch out and be open to new people then you will also have other people to spend time with when your bestie can’t hang.

Write it out.
Keeping a journal can be a great way to reflect on how you feel and why you feel that way. When you’re feeling jealous of your BFF write down exactly how you feel and why, then look back at it later to figure out what’s really going on.

Accept your bestie's other friends.
You know what they say: If you can’t beat them, join them. Instead of allowing jealousy to exclude you, try including yourself in your BFF’s other friend group. She would probably love to have you around and you may actually like her other friends.

Focus on you.
Get started on that paper that’s due in three weeks, go for a run or catch up on your favorite show. There are lots of things you can do and that you enjoy doing instead of obsessing over how your friend had plans with other people today. 

Know where you stand.
It’s important to be confident and secure in your place in your bestie’s life. You have to know that just because she has other friends doesn’t mean you’re not one of her favorite people. If you need to just talk things out with her, go for it. A little reassurance always helps.

Don’t be selfish.
Your gal pal needs to meet all kinds of people in order to grow and develop into the person she’s going to be and so do you. Realize and understand that and that tinge of jealousy might just disappear.

Are *you* a jealous friend? Or have you ever dealt with one? Share in the comments! 

by Lauren McMillan | 9/30/2019